<p>The seller and us are 20K apart in price. We have no contingency except for financing and we already have pre-approval for mortgage. I wonder if it is really going to be worth seller´s while to wait it out to get 20K more.</p>
<p>You found a place OldFort? Congrats!</p>
<p>MOWC-
I am a bit confused about the buyers not having $$ for closing, since its quite likely, isnt it, that they could roll those into the mortgage and not be actually writing a check of some kind. I am guessing they are trying to keep the house price low and also get you to pick up the closing costs. Sweet deal if you can get it.</p>
<p>When we were dealing with my dads house (which , btw all but $5k of the $ has been released- YAY!!- just waiting for their atty to put in writing that they are happy with the radiator repair) the agent continuously brought up the cost of carrying the house (averaged about $3k/mo) and was more than hapy to continue to try to get me to lower the price again and again (we ended up selling at about 80% of the original asking price). When we were down to the last few small issues to get someone to pay and I suggested that where I live sometimes the agents help work this out, she practically hung the phone up in my ear. She was not going to give up one flat cent of her commission. Did I mention she didnt sit in on the closing?</p>
<p>My question to Bulletandpima (#1269): are soffits considered desirable or undesirable? I got rid of them in two previous kitchens, but found the tall cabinets kind of useless (too high to get to things on the top). </p>
<p>We are thinking of an economical (aka, “cheap”) redo of our kitchen with potentially selling in the next year.</p>
<p>Oldfort…can you really price a place in Manhattan within 20,000?</p>
<p>Are you willing to give up the place?</p>
<p>You can’t meet in the middle?</p>
<p>If this place was 200,000…20,000 could be an issue…but…this is Manhattan…</p>
<p>Then again…when I sold my place…for a second…I was ready to walk for $10,000. Then my realtor talked some sense into me. </p>
<p>I guess it depends on how much you want the place.</p>
<p>20,000 a month…for 20 years is what? 100 a month?</p>
<p>MOWC, I think you need to talk to your DH. With more inventory coming on the market and you working for reduced wages, it seems smart to get the house off your plate. Maybe another counter, you agree to closing costs and the come up a few tousand on price.</p>
<p>Unless you have a big division of Facebook in your town or some other impending hot IPO, chances of prices going up much and sellers getting more powerful quickly is not very likely. And with talk of interest rates going up, I’d have a hard time not taking that bird in the hand.</p>
<p>I think the poster who mentioned the 6% closing cost must be talking about the realtor’s commissions.</p>
<p>We made the counter. We’ll see what they come back with. We do tend to get a fair number of corporate relo buyers in our area. It is a pretty healthy economy compared to most places, but it is nowhere near 2004-6 levels. I DO want the house off our plate and I hope the buyers will be good neighbors for all my friends. It is an awesome street/neighborhood. We stayed in the same development, just a different part where we were able to build with more energy efficiency and customize a lot of things.</p>
<p>Good luck…</p>
<p>Pulled out our settlement paperwork. A shade over 5%, NOT including the realtor’s commission. Our broker told us to expect 6%. This was in 1998.</p>
<p>There was a reason it took us 14 years to save for a down payment and closing costs, on top of day care and student loans! :)</p>
<p>*Did I mention she didnt sit in on the closing? *</p>
<p>Wow! That’s really bad. My realtor gave up 1% of his commission to get the deal done.</p>
<p>MOWC, good luck!</p>
<p>
suzy, I thought so too.** Did I mention the closing was held in HER REAL ESTATE OFFICE?!?!?!?!?! **:eek: Seriously?? She was “around” but not in at the closing. Un-friggin-believable.</p>
<p>I have decided her middle name is “I’m not a…” or maybe “call your lawyer. He handles that. Its between the lawyers”.</p>
<p>One of the reasons I selected her was that she assured me (as a remote seller of a property held in a trust) that she had access to all the services I might need. Yet when it came down to it, I had to find my own locksmith, repair people/contractors, roofers, architects (that one was easy 
) cleaners, electrician, painter, oil tank removal and installation people, you name it. Gee, when I called one oil tank company, they told me that they had done HER HOUSE!! Do you think she mentioned it or suggested I check with them? Of course not. She started making a list of, and taking my people as referrals! She almost drove away the people I hired to pack up and get the house ready for sale, and the oil delivery people. I had to follow up behind her and smooth things over with these people that she’d royally p*ssed off. It is sooo hard handling this stuff remotely. She did not make it any easier, thats for sure. If I was in the area I’d have replaced her the minute the contract was up for the listing. We had just gotten the offer (that finally sold) just as her 6 mo listing was expiring.</p>
<p>First, congratulations jym on finally being done with the sale of your father’s house. (Well, almost, but it’s really close, right?) I’m sure you’re relieved!</p>
<p>MOWC, re: paying closing costs – when we sold our home in CT last summer, the people who ended up buying wanted us to cover their closing costs to the tune of $10K. That was in each of their first 3 offers. We said absolutely not each time, and walked away from their offers. We did counter on their 3rd offer, but refused to pay closing costs. By their 4th offer they had given up on trying for that. I can’t remember how many offers we got from them before we all agreed, but what they really did by continuing to come back was tip their hands that they really wanted our house. The thing was, in our area, the seller paying closing costs was not the norm at all. (Our realtor agreed with us refusing to pay.) I know that varies around the country, so YMMV. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks, CBBBlinker. Yes, I think we are <em>almost</em> done. I jsut hope the buyers are nice neighbors. We really like the people who live on the block. These people have been very difficuly, but I hope it was the lawyer and not them who was the serious PITA. We are waiting for one last confirmation that the buyers or their lawyer will sign off on to release the last of the funds. I HOPE. I was amazed that they didnt ask us to pay closing costs. Instead they jsut lowballed us. Or maybe in that state the buyer pays. I dont know for sure.</p>
<p>Jym, I’m so sorry you are going thru this. It has been a decade, but I still feel anger about the sale of my parent’s condo.</p>
<p>Fortunately, I had a team of realtors to sell the CA house. They staged the house, forced the ex- to get rid of the clutter, got inspection done and hired workmen to do the repairs. They were terrific in every way. (I lost lots of money, but that wasn’t realtors’ fault.)</p>
<p>Thanks bookworm. You sound like you had gems for realtors. I had a lump of coal 
Every month she was hockin me to lower the price. She organized one open house and was then NOT THERE for much of it!!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Number 1 thing people say when they see soffitts is:</p>
<p>That will def. have to go!</p>
<p>Yes, the cabinets may be taller and for some unuseable due to the height, but a realtor can overcome that in 30 seconds.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You can use that top shelf for the items you only bring out during the holidays or for hosting parties, giving you even more room for the lower cabinets.</p></li>
<li><p>I have that, and this is where I place the items we all buy, but don’t need immediately like when stores have the buy 2 get 3 free on soup, salad dressing, mayo, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>How tall is your kid…I just scream for my DH or my 6’4 DS and they get it down for me. If that doesn’t work for you, as a housewarming gift I’ll buy you a step ladder to keep in your pantry.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>All of those things remind them that theoretically from a financial perspective you are objecting to find a way to legitimize why you offer less money.</p>
<p>As for when I have to deal with clients and soffitts, I am left with little to dissuade them because immediately they know ripping out soffits creates a kitchen that will be shut down and once you buy new upper cabinets, you will buy lower cabinets, and new countertops, sinks, microwave, etc. The dimes quickly become big dollar bills.</p>
<p>Granted stubborn sellers will say, but this way they can choose what they want.
The fact is if the kitchen is done in traditional colors, they won’t complain unless you cheap it somewhere, i.e. laminate counters.</p>
<p>Even at that point, I can convince them that new counters cost a couple of grand and literally can be in within a day. No loss of a kitchen.</p>
<p>The sellers may also say well we will give an allowance for the kitchen, but let’s keep the price as is.</p>
<p>This is my nightmare when they say that, because as also a buying agent most buyers take this as a sign of nickel and diming the seller. They enter the home with the premise if they will give an allowance here, what about carpet, paint, bathroom, ext, etc?</p>
<p>I would much rather prefer they reduce the price a realistic number so the agent can say, look the house is 30K below and obviously, the reason is you will spend 30K to get to the competition, but at least you can do it to your design and take your time because it still is a working kitchen. Heck, if you are handy, you can do it yourself and now have more equity in the home because labor is always the biggest cost.</p>
<p>It is all about how the realtor will have to overcome the buyers objections. Remember they have no emotional attachment to the house. You are selling a home, they are buying a house. 4 walls and a roof, not the place where little johnny broke his arm running down the stairs Xmas morning!</p>
<p>Be harsh with yourself and look at everything like a buyer. </p>
<p>Is the paint color too out there? If so paint it beige.
Do you hate that you have 3 colors of carpet for 4 bedrooms? Pick one color and replace 2 of other rooms.
Do you hate that you have no kitchen storage because of the cabinets? Than address it one way or the other.</p>
<p>Remove your emotions, and look at your competition. If you are saying OOOH on line over some of their features, remember when the buyer enters that same home they will be saying it too!</p>
<p>OBTW, my number 1 tip for all my sellers.</p>
<p>Remove all window screens, clean the windows inside and out. You can’t believe the difference it makes in the amount of light that comes into the home. I have yet to hear one buyer ever say, I can’t stand this house it has just too much daylight!</p>
<p>Plus, from a realtors POV leave on some lights. Nothing worse for us than trying to navigate a light switch with 4 switches when the home is already dark. I usually tell them a lamp is great because you can buy scented oils to place on the bulb, as the light stays on it heats the oil and gives off a scent like a scented candle, but yet they can’t see the candle believing you are masking a smell.</p>
<p>Yes, most of my buyers do question if that candle is masking an odor, such as pets.</p>
<p>bulletandpima, I was thinking about leaving all the window screens off because they do reduce the amount of light that comes in. I’d store them in the basement. Do any potential buyers wonder where the screens are? Do they worry that screens don’t come with the house and that they will have to buy them??</p>
<p>jym,</p>
<p>I am sorry for your experience, but here is what I would do.</p>
<ol>
<li>Contact the broker and tell him of your complaints.
~~ They will “talk” to her.</li>
</ol>
<p>If she is the broker of that office and it is a national firm call HQ. I.E Century 21 Corporate. </p>
<p>As a C21 agent, Corporate sends to the client an after sale questionnaire, let loose on them about her.</p>
<p>The only way to get people like this out of the business is going to be through your actions.</p>
<p>Old adage, but still true. Make 1 person happy they tell nobody, tick 1 person off they will tell 20 people.</p>
<p>Additionally, it appears from your post she has not violated any ethics issue, but maybe she has and you just didn’t realize it yet. Every realtor must belong to the county, state and national association. Each state has their own quirks regarding ethics. Contact your local association board to see if you can lodge a complaint.</p>
<p>This hurts them for multiple reasons.</p>
<ol>
<li>They must meet a board to defend the allegations, you don’t have to attend, you just submit the complaint.</li>
</ol>
<p>That means while they are trying to sell homes they need to take off time to meet them…loss of revenue.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If found negligent, they can face a fine or loss/suspension of their license…loss of revenue.</p></li>
<li><p>The broker will be ticked because they too must report to the board and defend her actions. Sure as sheaat smelling, this will place her on their radar. Brokers make money because it is like a pyramid scheme. She collects 3% from the selling side, the broker takes a % of that 3%, if her actions hurt sales via word of mouth, she just took money out of their pocket.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>They do wonder where they are, but if you place them in a prominent area like the basement or garage, they will see them and say OKAY.</p>
<p>Everytime I have sold our homes (owned 5 in 12 yrs). I placed them in the garage right next to the door that led into the home.</p>
<p>I have always kept the garage uncluttered when selling so you can’t miss them.</p>
<p>I placed them in the garage for another reason. The way people travel through a home. Typically the garage is on the main floor, and at that moment if they notice it they will be on the main floor. Hence, they will check out the garage, and the thought is immediately answered, yes, there are the screens!</p>
<p>Placing the screens in the basement may be the last floor they visit, and the thought disappears, so they will eventually call their realtor, who will call your realtor, who will call you to say yes they are in the basement.</p>
<p>When you are selling a home, knowing it has been shown that day, your heart will jump seeing the realtors number, thinking it is an offer, only for it to sink to find out it isn’t.</p>
<p>One thing I do for my clients is I create 2 different brochures. 1 is in color. 1 is in B & W with BIG PRINT REALTOR COPY.</p>
<p>The reason behind this is buyers will always take a brochure. It is to them free candy.</p>
<p>Brokers only will take it if the buyer is serious. In our state you must as a seller place a disclosure or a disclaimer form in the offer. If the home is in an HOA, you must request the by laws. Realtors know this, and the only reason they will take it is because their client is leaning towards your home and it saves them time since the buyers signed it already.</p>
<p>I also like it because, no offense to sellers, they are nervous, and this stops them from calling me after every showing. They count those Realtor copies, and now understanding the logic behind my madness, it will tell them if they didn’t take one, it isn’t happening.</p>
<p>My other tricks:
- If you have a full size or bigger bed in the room, place a little card on the bed. Stating the size of the room and the bed.</p>
<p>Bigger rooms can have an eye perception issue, they may think the queen is a full, and thus the room is small. Telling the buyer this is a queen, they think immediately how much bigger the room will be when they place sally’s twin in the room.</p>
<ol>
<li>Please keep all of the front house windows uniform. It is one of the 1st things they see from a curb appeal aspect, they can’t put their finger on it, but something is off.</li>
</ol>
<p>That means if you have blinds keep them all open at the same angle. If you have shades have them at the same height.</p>
<p>I am not saying get color coordinated curtains, just walk out in the front of your home and look at all the windows. Do they look uniform?</p>
<ol>
<li>Place all chairs in the kitchen and dining room in as close to the table as you can.</li>
</ol>
<p>If you have an open floor plan, chances are the serious buyers will take a seat and discuss the home while still in it. 95% of the time, they never push the chair back in the way you left it.</p>
<p>The same is true for throw pillows on a sofa. Chances are the pillow is awkward and they will move it, never replacing it where you left it.</p>
<p>Any buyer getting comfy on your furniture is thinking about placing an offer.</p>
<ol>
<li> Lockboxes.</li>
</ol>
<p>I don’t know the type your state has, but ours has a unique system. We not only know the exact time when the realtor entered, but we also can set it for when they left. </p>
<p>The way that works is the key drops out of the box, telling us the time entered. The realtor must replace that key which tells us the time they left. Anything over 20 minutes for a 2K sqft home is a great sign.</p>
<p>It also spews out to the listing agent who is coming or going regarding realtors. Now maybe one realtor shows it, and comes back again the next day again. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the same buyer is with them. It means they believe in the property and they don’t want to lose it from the buying side.</p>
<ol>
<li>Do NOT do Open Houses for the Public.</li>
</ol>
<p>You open yourself up to Looky Lous, and worse the chance of being robbed. No realtor with 5 couples in the home that has 3 levels can be on every floor at any given time.</p>
<p>Do a BROKER’s open House. They are done during the week day while you are at work, you are not inconvenienced, and every realtor will hand over their card upon entering.<br>
<p>I personally also give away gift cards to Lowe's, Best Buy, Gasoline, Grocery stores. They come for that too. Many of them will put that in their wallet to use as a gift to their clients.</p>
<p>There are my tips for the day.</p><p>In addition to what bullet suggested above, I also recommend you to report the case to that State DRE, it is the ultimate arbitrator on broker’s disputes. A broker does not need to belong to any Realtor’s association(most likely your agent is not in that category), but a broker must be licensed byt the state DRE, so DRE is the first and the last resort for disputes.</p>
<p>jym, what you wrote here is fine, but you have to back it up with evidences. Take your time to collect all the phone call, email or written records, make it as complete as possible before submit for dispute resolutions.</p>
<p>In our state it is called DOPR, they are the ones that license Realtors. They license us, teachers, docs, nurses, etc. If you are required by law to have a license they are the ones to issue it.</p>
<p>I concur with art, pull out every bit of documentation. Most realtors when they do their “sell” to list a home, also give in writing what they will do as the listing agent, sim. to a brochure.</p>
<p>If they guaranteed this in their brochure of “WHY ME”, you have a failure to fulfill, if you can prove you did all of that.</p>
<p>I actually saw this happen in our office with a realtor; they were fired by our broker. The fine placed against them by VAR was the entire 3% commission. </p>
<p>That’s the thing realtors who are shady constantly place themselves into a bad place. Sellers will ask how much is your commission. Commissions are always negotiable, and we can never say we charge 3%. We can say currently, the rate in this area is traditionally 3% for the seller and 3% for the buyer.</p>
<p>Fine line. One price fixed the commission, another stated this is common, you name your price, but remember this is the traditional.</p>